A.
The Borough Council may grant a modification of the
requirements of one (1) or more provisions of this chapter, if the
literal enforcement will exact undue hardship because of peculiar
conditions pertaining to the land in question, provided that such
modification will not be contrary to the public interest and that
the purpose and intent of the chapter is observed.
B.
Any request for a modification shall be in writing
and shall accompany and be a part of the application for development.
The request shall state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness
or hardship on which the request is based, the provision or provisions
of the chapter involved and the minimum modification necessary.
C.
Borough Council shall refer the request for modification
to the Borough Planning Commission for advisory comments.
D.
In granting modifications, Borough Council may impose
such conditions as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the
objectives of the standards and requirements so modified.
E.
The Borough shall keep a written record of all action
on all requests for modifications.
A.
The Borough shall assign a file name to all subdivision
and land development applications and all matters referring to an
application should be filed in accordance with the file name. The
Borough shall keep a record of its findings, decisions and recommendations
relative to all plans filed with it for review.
B.
All such records shall be public records.
A.
No application for preliminary or final approval shall
be deemed to have been submitted until the fee and escrow deposit,
as set forth below, shall have been paid. Failure by the applicant
to deliver the funds necessary to meet the escrow requirement within
thirty (30) days of receipt of the plans by the Code Enforcement Officer
shall constitute good and sufficient grounds for the rejection of
the plans as received.
B.
A subdivision or land development application fee (nonrefundable) and an escrow deposit shall be submitted with any application for preliminary or final plan review and approval to cover the costs of plan review and processing. Amounts of the application fee and escrow deposit shall be fixed by Borough Council by resolution. The escrow funds shall be used to reimburse the Borough for actual expenditures incident to these processes, including but not limited to fees of the Borough Engineer and other professionals deemed necessary by the Borough and legal fees in excess of the fee for review of the Borough standard forms. Any costs incurred by the Borough in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the applicant prior to the issuance of any permits. Any unexpended balance in the escrow deposit shall become part of the second deposit required in Subsection C below.
C.
Following final plan approval and recording and the
establishment of any required performance guaranty, a second escrow
deposit shall be established to cover the cost of inspections of improvements
construction; materials or site testing; or maintenance costs (e.g.,
snow removal, cindering, street sweeping, etc.) prior to the acceptance
of improvements by the Borough. Any costs incurred by the Borough
in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by
the applicant. Any unexpended balance in the escrow deposit following
acceptance or dedication of improvements by the Borough shall be returned
to the applicant. The amount of the escrow deposit shall be fixed
by Borough Council by resolution. This escrow deposit may be waived
by the Borough where the proposed development will not include the
construction or installation of any public improvements.
A.
In addition to other remedies, the Borough Council
may institute and maintain appropriate actions by law or in equity
to restrain, correct or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction,
to recover damages and to prevent illegal occupancy of a building,
structure or premises.
B.
The Borough may refuse to issue any permit or grant
any approval necessary to further improve or develop any real property
which has been developed or which has resulted from a subdivision
of real property in violation of this chapter. This authority to deny
such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:
(1)
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(2)
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the
time of such violation without regard as to whether such vendee or
lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(3)
The current owner of record who acquired the property
subsequent to the time of violation without regard as to whether such
current owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(4)
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record
who acquired the property subsequent to the time of violation without
regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive
knowledge of the violation.
C.
As an additional condition for issuance of a permit
or the granting of an approval to any such owner, current owner, vendee
or lessee for the development of any such real property, the Borough
may require compliance with the conditions that would have been applicable
to the property at the time the applicant acquired an interest in
such real property.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which
has violated the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found
liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the
Borough, pay a judgment of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.),
plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred
by the Borough as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or
be imposed, levied or be payable until the date of the determination
of a violation by the District Justice. If the defendant neither pays
nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment
pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.
B.
Each day that a violation continues shall constitute
a separate violation, unless the District Justice determining that
there has been a violation further determines that there was a good
faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating the
chapter to have believed that there was no such violation, in which
event there shall be deemed to have been only one (1) such violation
until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation
by the District Justice, and, thereafter, each day that a violation
continues shall constitute a separate violation.
Appeals from the actions of the Borough Council
with respect to any application for subdivision or land development
approval shall be governed by the provisions of the Municipalities
Planning Code, as they may be amended from time to time, or any successor
legislation thereto.
The Borough Council may, from time to time,
revise, modify and amend this chapter by appropriate action taken
at a duly advertised public hearing, all in accordance with the applicable
provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code.
